Meanwhile... Gepetto Jack Fagin is upstairs, terrified out of his mind.
'As long as I can keep this cat calm and content, I have a chance of getting out of this alive,' he thinks to himself as he strokes the cat's fur.
"Good kitty. Nice kitty."
Eventually the cat falls asleep, on top of Fagin's prayer shawl / moneylender's coin changer. (It's the focus for his Fluid Funds ritual). Fagin gently slips out from under the rest of his shawl, and tiptoes down the stairs, holding his breath.